THIS invention relates to an ergonomically designed container for heavy goods, and in particular for heavy fragile goods such as glass goods.
Heavy glass goods of a flat or formed nature are normally packed by hand into collapsible containers prior to shipping. Such collapsible containers may be in the form of a base pallet, four side walls or panels and a top panel. In one type of collapsible container, which forms the subject of the applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,471, the base pallet and the side and top panels are held together by means of L-shaped clips, with the clips also being used to hold the various panels together in a collapsed or sheaved condition when the containers are being returned for re-packaging.
During the manual loading procedure, the containers are normally semi-erected, in that three of the side panels are clipped to the base pallet. The glass goods are then manually loaded onto the pallet via the opening left by the fourth side panel. After loading, the fourth side panel and the top lid are clipped into place.
Collapsible containers of the type described typically fall into the category of intermediate bulk carriers, or IBC's. In the case of the manual loading of heavy glass articles and the like, it is extremely difficult to load the articles against the side panel which lies opposite the opening. As the loader has to stretch over and bend fully to load the articles on the far side of the pallet, this results in considerable strain on the back and the concomitant potential of back injuries. This problem is not alleviated if the loader surmounts the pallet, as he still has to bend down to the level of his feet during initial loading of the far side of the container. In the past, the only way of alleviating this problem has been by the provision of smaller more accessible pallets. From a logistical viewpoint, this is far from ideal.